Love Knows No Bounds
by Enelya87
Summary: A request drabble thread. Mostly pairings. Ask me to write any Bleach pairing, except incest and OCs, and I'll try to do it. Can be friendship, family, etc. requests as well. Pairings in chapter titles. More details inside.
1. AiHime

This is a request thread. Which means that I will write absolutely ANY pairing request. From IchiRuki to YammiUlqui. From Ikkaku/Mizuho to Barragan/Orihime. If you want to add a prompt or specific requests, please go right ahead. If you'd rather see friendship or family, let me know. If you don't want the drabble to be crack-y, you better request that it not be or it might just end up like this one XD. Scary thought, no? So make sure you specify if you want me to lay off the crack when I write it. And if I already wrote one, but you want to see another with that pairing, go right ahead and request again and I'll happily write as many as you want!

Keep in mind, I already have HichiHime, IchiHime, and GrimmNel drabble threads and I plan to make a RenRuki one soon. So those pairings won't end up in here. If you request it, I'll put it in one of those.

Oh! Also, I don't do incest. If you want a Yuzu/Ichigo drabble, for example, I'll gladly write a family drabble, but it won't be romantic in any shape or form.

So go crazy! Please give me lots of requests! This should be fun :D

Disclaimer: Bleach (c) Kubo Tite

**Pairing:** Aizen/Orihime  
**Genre: **Romance/CRACK  
**Notes:** Occurs right after the AiHime face-cupping scene. Majorly OOC.

* * *

:

:

:

"Oh my God! I can't believe I just did that! Did you guys see? Did you?!" Aizen squealed as soon as they thought they were out of Orihime's range of hearing.

"No, I did not see," Tousen said testily.

"Oh…uh…sorry, bro."

"Whatever."

"…ANYways, Gin! Did you see that? I was so badass! She totally thought I was gonna kiss her. I think there was a blush too. Did you see a blush?"

Gin kept the smile frozen to his face. "Yeah, she totally wants you, Aizen." _God, why do I have to deal with this idiot?_

"Yesss." Aizen started thrusting his hips in a dance that made the atmosphere even more awkward. "I am the man. I am _so_ the man. Eat it, Kurosaki. The girl is mine!"

"Aizen?"

"What's up?"

"Please stop dancing."

"…Party pooper," Aizen pouted.

Tousen let out a long-suffering sigh. "Can we just get back to taking over the world now?"

"Oh! Yeah! Sure thing… Do you guys think the hougyoku would make a good engagement ring?"

"Aizen! World! Destroying!" Tousen yelled, nearly pulling his hair out.

"Okay, fine. We'll talk about it later."

Gin glanced over at Aizen as the entrance into Karakura Town began to tear open. "Aizen. You've got a stupid grin on your face."

"Huh? Oh! Thanks!" Aizen frowned in concentration. "Okay, cool villain face, cool villain face, cool villain face…"

"Hurry it up, Aizen!"

"Got it!" Aizen turned to Tousen. "How do I look? …Ha! Kidding! Because you can't see! Hahahaha!"

"You're a moron."

Aizen ignored him and turned back to Gin. "So?"

Gin tilted his head slightly and then reached over to adjust the curl. "You're good."

"Yay!"

"Aizen."

"Oh. Right. Sorry."

Meanwhile, Orihime stared in the direction of the voices in horror. Aizen always forgot how the castle of Hueco Mundo echoed.

"Kiss? Engaged?" She shook her head hard from the mental images and looked back towards where they'd left with a raised eyebrow. "Hmph, in your dreams, Aizen…although…that bitch curl is pretty tempting…"

"Inoue?!"

Orihime whirled around to see Ichigo standing there with a horrified expression on his face.

"K-Kurosaki-kun! You're so fast! Um...just kidding? Eh heh heh heh..."

"..."

She frowned and folded her arms across her chest. "Hey, don't judge me! So I want to take a walk on the wild side while I'm still young, so shoot me!"

"..."

"Kurosaki. Close your mouth. You'll let bugs in."

:

:

:

* * *

I don't know, guys. I don't know XD. An entire day buried in homework, and this is what happens I guess.

And if you want to request another AiHime that's non-cracky, you go right ahead XD.


	2. ByaRuki

Eh heh...oops...finally updating *Sweatdrop* Sorry bout that, life got really hectic all of a sudden and plus I tried doing them in the order of when I received the requests and...yeah that just doesn't work for me XD. I'll do them as I get a decent idea for the pairing. Anyhow, Thank you guys for all your amazingness!! I got so many requests!! Love it 3

**ALSO**, if you requested something and you just don't like it or you wanted something different (like you wanted sweet romance and I wrote crack or vice versa), please let me know and I'll make you a new one. I can take it. This is very much for me flexing my muscles and because I think it's loads of fun, but these are also YOUR requests, so I want you to enjoy them. This helps for me to put this here because apparently I'm REALLY nervous when I get requests xD. This let's me off the hook, so please let me know!! ^^

**pairing:** Byakuya/Rukia  
**genre:** romance/angst...ish...I guess xD

* * *

:

:

:

This is absurd. He wasn't feeling this. He wasn't thinking this. It was all an illusion.

She looked like her. It was a simple matter of missing Hisana. Only the inability of his heart to differentiate between the two. How weak.

"Nii-sama."

His cold, still eyes glanced up. He did _not_ appreciate what his heart was doing at the sound of her voice. A voice so unlike his Hisana's whose voice had been soft and feminine. Hers was low and sultry, a different kind of softness.

She sat there on her knees, waiting for him to respond. He assessed the gaze in her eyes. They were filled with expectation and devotion.

Devotion. Why was she so devoted to him? He wasn't her real brother. Her sister had died while under his care. He had taken her from everything that was familiar to her. He had again taken her away when she'd found normalcy in the real world only to send her to her death. He still barely showed her the time of day.

So why the _hell_ was she so devoted?!

His fist clenched around the pen in his hand as he struggled to reign in his emotions, the muscle in his jaw leapt as he closed his eyes. Emotions. How absurd.

He calmly opened his eyes to again look at her, she was still patiently waiting. He had to remind himself of how different they were. Rukia was strong, a soldier. Hisana's strength was quiet. Nearly identical in appearance, yet so different in every other way.

So why did his heart beat faster when he thought of the differences in Rukia?

He'd sworn to never love again. Sworn enternal devotion to Hisana.

He especially couldn't love _her_.

He _couldn't_.

:

Rukia's eyes widened at the softness that entered her brother-in-law's eyes. Never before had he look at her like that… _Nii-sama_?

:

:

:


	3. BarryHime

**pairing:** Barragan/Orihime. Yup, yup ^^  
**genre:** Romance/CRACK/ooc (could BarryHime be anything but? xD)

* * *

:

:

:

"Go for it."

"Yeah, I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

"She could laugh in my face."

"No, no, no," Nnoitra protested. "She's not the type of girl to just laugh in a fella's face!"

"Even saying no nicely is gonna be bad enough."

"What?!" Grimmjow looked astonished. "Say no to you? Why, any girl would be crazy to reject you, Barragan!"

"You're just saying that."

"No, I'm not! Look at all you have to offer!" Grimmjow draped his arm across the humped shoulders. "You're a mature man of experience! She'll see right away what she's missing by pining over that mere boy. And you're the former king of Hueco Mundo! What's not to love?"

Barragan studied the blue haired espada skeptically, and then his gaze shifted over to his comrade who was calmly standing in the corner. "What do you think Ulquiorra?"

Ulquiorra's cool green eyes didn't even blink. "You will succeed."

Barragan took a deep breath. "Well…what should I do? I mean…it's been quite a long time since I've…uh…courted a lady. Of course I was quite the lady's man in my-"

"Yes, yes," Nnoitra interrupted. "Well, _I_ can tell ya how to nab 'er." He sneered and shook his fist in the air. "Ya grab her and take her, drilling into her until she likes it…or not like it. Not liking is definitely an option. They scream louder."

Grimmjow shook his head. "No, you idiot. You don't treat a woman like that. "He slapped Barragan on the shoulders. "Ya have to treat her rough, show her what a man you are until she submits and is putty in your hands. Then _she'll_ be chasin' after _you_!"

Barragan eyed him doubtfully and then turned back to Ulquiorra. "What do you think?"

"Force feed her."

Just then Gin sauntered in and looked around. "What's going on?"

Grimmjow patted Barragan on the shoulder. "Barry here's got a crush on our little captive."

"Oh? And I suppose you want to win the fair maiden's heart?"

Barragan looked down, nodding and then kicked at the marble floor dejectedly. "But I have no idea what to do."

Gin grinned wider and held up his hands. "Why that's easy. Flowers, chocolates, stuffed animals, serenades…that sort of thing."

The espada all blinked at him silently. And then they suddenly started collectively facepalming and muttering amonst themselves.

"Of course."

"It's so easy!

"We were thinking too hard."

"Where the hell am I gonna find flowers?"

An hour later four espada and a former shinigami stood before the prison door. Barragan stood there with his arms full of wilting flowers, a box of chocolates, a stuffed kitty (that Grimmjow had "somehow" found), and Ulquiorra stood behind him holding a boombox.

"Ready big guy?" Grimmjow asked.

Barragan swallowed hard and nodded. Nnoitra stepped forward and lifted his fist to knock. "Wait, wait, wait!"

Nnoitra's hand dropped and he looked back with a raised eyebrow. "Chickening out?"

"No, no. I just…need a moment."

The spoonhead rolled his eyes. "You've had an hour. Let's get this show on the road." Before Barragan could stop him he banged on the door.

A muffled voice called out, but they couldn't quite hear what she said so they waited for her to open the door. A few seconds passed…Nnoitra knocked again and the voice came again. They all looked at each other.

"Maybe she's changing."

"She doesn't have anything to change into!"

"Well…she's gotta shower once in a while, right?"

The men went silent as their imaginations ran away with them. A louder, muffled, and slightly sarcastic voice jolted them from their fantasies. "It's locked from the outside."

All eyes went to Ulquiorra whose eyes widened. "Oops." He shifted the boombox and dug around in his pocket, pulling them and tossing them to Nnoitra.

He rolled his eyes as he stuck the key into the lock. "Moron."

The door swung open and Orihime's eyes went wide at the sight of all of them visiting her at once. "Wh-What's going on?"

Nnoitra and Grimmjow stepped to the side to reveal Barragan in all his courting glory. "Barry's got somethin' to say ta ya, princess," Gin drawled.

Grey eyes studied the old man curiously. "Yes, Barragan-sama?"

Ulquiorra pushed down on the button, piano softly floating from the speakers, and Barragan opened his mouth, singing in a gravelly voice, "Whyyy do birrrds… suddenly appeearr… everytiiime you are neearrr? Just like meee… they long to beee… close to yooouuu…"

Barragan paused to cough. Coughed again. Once more and then he went into a spasm of coughing.

"Oh!" Orihime ran over and patted him on the back. "Take it easy! Just try to breathe calmly. There you go." He recovered, still clutching the gifts which Orihime was trying not to dwell on too much. "Are you all right now?" He nodded sheepishly and cleared his throat.

Orihime stepped back and waited, hands clasped in front of her, the music still playing.

"Uh…Orihime-chan…here's the thing….I…Well, I know I'm an old man, but…" He suddenly shoved all the gifts into her arms. She struggled to hold onto all of them, stumbling a bit. "These are for you."

She glanced from the gifts to him back to the gifts. "Thank you…Barragan-sama. But-"

"Would you be my woman?"

"…"

The men watched in wonder as her eyes grew wider and wider, nearly filling her entire face.

"Orihime-chan? I-I know I'm much older than you but-"

"Barragan-sama!" She quickly interrupted before he could say more. "Um…I…I'm very flattered. Honestly. It's very…um…out of all the girls here…but…I…" She stopped and frowned, how to say this? "I'm very sorry but…eh…we can still be friends, ne?" She asked hopefully. Mostly wanting to avoid being ceroed.

The old man's face fell and she immediately felt bad…but not bad enough. She chewed at her lip as she waited for his response…but then…was that snickering? She shifted her eyes over to the men that stood behind him…all whose faces were suspiciously red and strained looking. Nnoitra was the first to burst out laughing, quickly followed by Grimmjow and Gin, and finally Ulquiorra stiffly joined in.

Barragan whirled around to glare at them. "What the hell is the meaning of this?!"

Nnoitra opened his mouth, but gave up when another burst of laughter overtook him. Grimmjow struggled to breathe, "Th-That soft look on his face…priceless!"

Barragan was shaking with fury when suddenly Aizen's head popped around the corner. He looked around hopefully, but then his face fell in disappointment. "Aw, I'm too late?"

Ulquiorra shook his head and pointed at the front of the boombox. "Camera."

Aizen clenched his fist in triumph. "Yesss."

"Wait just a minute!" Barragan roared. "You guys set me up?! This is all a joke to you?!"

Nnoitra smirked. "Well duh. Do you actually think a woman like that would go for you?"

"Now, now. That's not nice, Nnoitra-sama," Orihime chided.

"Well it's the truth ain't it?"

Orihime looked away and busied herself with smelling the flowers.

"Uh-huh."

Barragan finally flew out of the room in a rage, grumbling and roaring intermittently. Gin wiped away tears from his eyes. "Oh my, my, my. That was highly entertaining."

Aizen took the boombox from Ulquiorra. "I can't believe I missed this. And you really got him to sing Dionne Warwick? I knew I hired you guys for a reason."

Finally Orhime's guests started filing out of her room. She blinked repeatedly when Grimmjow suddenly backtracked and discreetly plucked the stuffed kitten out of her arms. "You tell anyone, you _die_, princess."

She nodded obediently and jumped slightly when the door slammed shut. Standing there for a moment, she let it all sink in as the dust settled. _Barragan?_ Her nose wrinkled and she shook her head as if to shake out the mental images. "Ew, ew, ew."

:

:

:

* * *

Urgh, I don't liiiike it DX. I'll do a redo one of these days. This is my practice thread, so expect plenty of hits and misses xD.


	4. UlquiHime

Nope, I didn't forget about this thread XD Sorry for the horribly long wait on your requests. I'm getting to them slowly but surely!

I can't remember who requested this...I think actually more than one did. But here ya go whoever you are! (I know copper requested one with the prompt "cupcake", but I'll get to that one later. I had this idea for UlquiHime and had to get it out first xD)

**Pairing:** UlquiHime  
**Rating:** a very light T  
**Relevant AN:** Orihime's has given her heart speech and Ulquiorra took her back to her cell, so I'm messing with canon a bit for my purposes and delaying Ichigo's arrival.

* * *

_How big is a woman's heart_

:

:

:

Ulquiorra stared at the two pale fingers that had pressed against the girl's chest. He could still feel the steady beat of her heart pulsing against the pads of his fingertips. His dark lips pressed together tightly and he shoved his hand back into his pocket, a foreign feeling of frustration bubbling up within him because once again he found himself preoccupied with the ridiculous human and her prattle about hearts.

Nonsense.

But as he strolled through the halls of Las Noches, awaiting Kurosaki's arrival, his thoughts persisted in straying to the prisoner with the long, caramel hair. His hand slipped out of his pocket for further scrutiny. Curiously, he brought them to his chest, raising them to the same spot where he had touched her when he had tried to intimidate her. Inexplicably, that plan had backfired when he ended up holding a longer conversation with her than he'd intended and now he found himself practically bewitched by her.

The fingers that had lifted to press to his chest didn't meet with the warm beat of a heart. They slipped into a hole of cold emptiness.

Nothing.

Ulquiorra felt…_annoyed_, he decided was what the feeling was. He was annoyed at the absence of the curious thump-thump in his chest. He was annoyed that he desired to feel such a useless thing. But most of all he was annoyed at this mere girl causing such disrupt in his world.

Cold nothingness was all he needed. It was all he had ever known. There was nothing that such a weak creatures as a human had that he needed.

Nothing.

Ulquiorra raised his vibrant eyes to find that his feet had somehow led him to the prisoner's door. He glared at the white stone. And right then he decided she was a threat and therefore must be destroyed. She was distracting him and he would not be able to concentrate on protecting Hueco Mundo in Aizen's absence.

With resolve and purpose set in his empty chest, he calmly swung the door open.

:

Several minutes had passed with Orihime standing in the middle of her ascetic room, her hand pressed to her heart, willing it to slow down as her mind whirled with confused thoughts and feelings. This was _not_ what was supposed to happen. This was not what was supposed to happen at all.

Her plan had been to gain the espadas' trust, or at least their apathy, and then betray them, helping her friends and Soul Society to defeat Aizen and his new army. Maybe even use her powers to reject the cause of this whole mess.

But she hadn't planned on her friends coming after her. Stupid girl, she chided. Of course they would come after her.

More than that though, she hadn't planned on Ulquiorra.

Her heart sped up faster as she relived the feeling of his green eyes boring into her, probing her, challenging her. The fabric covering her chest bunched up in her clenching fist. Why was she feeling all of this? Why now? Why him? He was the _enemy_.

But he didn't feel like the enemy. He felt…curious…lost… And he didn't even know it. Or _wouldn't_ know it. There was so much more she wanted to tell him. So many things she wanted to show him. He was missing so much, and he had no idea. It broke her heart.

And then…there was the attraction. She was unbelievably, inexplicably, _deeply_ attracted to him. It was insane. It was ridiculous. It was undeniable.

Her soft brown eyes slid shut. How could this be? They were polar opposites! But then, she supposed, so were magnets…

That wasn't all though…

_Ichigo_.

Wasn't it just hours ago that she had made him her last and only goodbye? Hadn't she just confessed her heart to her sleeping friend? Was all that stuff she had said about falling in love with the same person even if there were five of her only the delusions of a silly schoolgirl?

His scowling face floated through her mind.

No. She loved him deeply. Still did and always will. She'd never been surer of anything in her whole life.

But…

She jumped and whirled around when the door swung open and she felt his presence fill the room. Her eyes widened as he walked towards her with calculating steps, those eyes and that gaze sending her heart racing. He stopped before her, their chests only inches apart. Her lungs felt crushed, his closeness robbing her of all breath, his eyes not allowing her to look anywhere else.

A gasp escaped her parted lips when she felt his fingers against her chest, once again. Only this time was much different than the moment that occurred only a few minutes ago. This time it was more… She bit her lip, embarrassed at where her thoughts were headed.

"Woman." Her chest warmed at his low voice. "Why is this heart of yours faster than the time before?"

Her cheeks heated at his curious question. "I-I…" She couldn't explain something like that to him!

His eyes had glued to the middle of her chest where his fingers lay, and now he began to drag them up her chest, over her collarbone until he found the pulse point at her neck and he pressed his fingers, feeling her erratic heartbeat. Orihime could only stand still and stare at him with wide eyes as his exploring fingers traveled up her neck, following her jawline.

"Ulquiorra," she whispered.

A slight frown appeared on his stony face, but he didn't respond to her, his pale fingers not stopping until they'd run over her lips. Orihime gasped lightly, his chilly fingers leaving her lips feeling heated and tingly. She should pull away. She should stop this. But she couldn't find the will to do anything except lower her gaze to his dark lips.

His fingers stroked her mouth once more, the frown deepening slightly as the tip of one finger slipped between her lips, exploring the wet warmth. Orihime closed her mouth around the tip, powerless to stop her tongue from gently stroking it.

Ulquiorra snatched his hand away from her mouth, and before Orihime could worry that she had gone too far, cold lips pressed against her mouth. Her eyes stayed open, unable to close them from the shock, and found that his were wide open, watching her. His hands clamped around her arms as he experimentally moved his mouth against hers.

As stunned as she was, she didn't hesitate long before responding, pressing against his mouth in return, her hands tentatively rising to rest against his chest. She couldn't resist him, and she knew she'd never be able to resist this mysterious, heartbreaking, beautiful man.

She gasped and jerked back when she suddenly felt it; Ichigo's reiatsu bursting into Las Noches. And she hadn't even felt or noticed him coming because…because…

She raised her hand to her burning lips and stared at the floor, a thousand and one thoughts and feelings racing through her.

Ulquiorra dropped his hands and stepped back, turning his back on her. "Your hero has come for you." A short pause felt like an explosion between them. "Come with me and watch him die."

Silently, she followed his stiff back out of the room towards where they could feel him racing through the halls.

They were such opposites. Where Ichigo was warm, Ulquiorra was cold. He was bright and orange and alive, but he was dark and stoic. His expression was of angry tenderness, but his was a mournful stoniness. He was an open book, but he was a mystery. He was the hero, but he was the villain.

A villain who had been her first kiss.

But as different as they were, both men stirred feelings that felt so similar and yet so different.

It was crazy, it was impossible. How could she…_love_ a man she'd only met hours before? But she did. She couldn't deny it. She loved two men, one a shinigami and one a hollow. Two enemies.

Who could she cheer for? Who could she protect? Who could she fight?

This fight…

A tear rolled down her cheek.

There would be no winners in this fight.


	5. ChizuruTatsuki

Two updates in one day?? Insanity! This is actually a request from my rl friend for her birthday (which is tomorrow). So Happy Birthday, Liz!

**Pairing:** Chizuru/Tatsuki, traces of IchiHime  
**Genre:** Romance/Angst/Humor  
**Rating:** T

* * *

_Our True Intentions_

:

:

:

Why is that little bitch always with her? Following my goddess around like a little dog. It's disgusting. And more importantly, she's in my way. If only I could have two minutes alone with my large breasted beauty…_two minutes_ is all I would need to convince her; to submit her.

Ah! Tatsuki is distracted. "Orihimeee!" I jumped onto her back and squeezed her luscious breasts, grinning at the gasp that escaped from Orihime's mouth. She likes it even if she doesn't know it yet. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a blur of black and swinging fists and before I knew it I was flat on my ass, staring angrily up at the little guard dog. I glanced at Orihime, but she'd been distracted by that orange-headed douche bag calling out to her. I growled in his direction, and was surprised to see that he was practically growling right back at me. Used to he would just leave me to Tatsuki… I shrugged it off and then turned back to seethe at the black-haired girl staring down at me.

I adjusted my glasses with a suitably haughty air. "If you're so determined to keep me out of the running, why don't you grow a pair and go after her yourself?" Her eyes snapped open and she blinked in shock as if she couldn't believe I'd just unlocked her diary and read the juiciest entries. "That _is_ what you want, right? You're no different than me. You want her just as badly."

"Shut up! You're so full of shit!" she cried _way_ too defensively.

I got up and brushed off the dirt from the back of skirt. "We're full of the same brand of shit, sweetheart," I said, just to antagonize her. There was no way Tatsuki actually had feelings for Orihime. With her bulldoggish ways, she would have already snagged my Hime if that were the case.

To that, the little pest had nothing to say. Just as well, I was bored with her and wanted to talk to my princess. Today was the day I would seriously tell her my feelings. "Orihime."

She whirled around from her conversation with the orange jackass and gave me one of her beautiful smiles. "Hai, Chizuru?"

"Do you…um…" _Fuck_, why was I messing this up? I am _not_ the stuttering type, dammit! "Do you think I could talk to you a moment…out in the hall?"

Orihime blinked in surprised confusion, but then smiled tenderly and nodded. Kurosaki half stood out of his seat and looked as if he would gladly tear my head off then and there, but Orihime's delicate hand reached out to touch his forearm and she murmured something softly to him in a way that I didn't like. His expression softened slightly and he sat back down, nodding at her – which I really, _really_ didn't like – and then nearly sent laser beams through my head with his eyes.

I rolled my eyes at him and followed my beauty out of the classroom. Ah, she was so perfect. The subtle sway of her hips. The way her hair swung back and forth down her back. Her cheerful whirl and beautiful smile once we were out in the hall. I swallowed hard, deciding it was now or never.

I cleared my throat loudly.

Shifted.

Cleared my throat again.

_God_, what was wrong with me? I'd groped her and declared my love a million times, just… not like _this_. Finally after taking four more deep breaths as she patiently waited, I had the courage mustered up as far as it would go. "Orihime…I…I like – no, I _love_ you. Will you go out with me?" There that wasn't so hard. But the shocked look on her face wasn't so fun. Nor were the sympathetic eyes. And the soft smile filled with nothing but kindness and friendship was downright brutal.

"Chizuru…I…thank you. Thank you so much for loving me. But I'm…" A soft, wet sheen appeared over her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I can't go out with you…you see, there's someone else." The blush on her face as she unconsciously looked into the classroom was a punch in the gut. "And…we're already going out." My eyebrows rose in surprise and she noticed. "Oh, but…well, I hate to ask you this, but if you wouldn't mind, please don't tell anyone?"

I blinked in a slow, dead motion. "It's Kurosaki isn't it?"

She blushed harder and nodded.

My chest swelled with the deepest breath of the century. "Yeah, no problem."

She touched my arm and smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Chizuru. Really. I…I know how it is…loving someone…but please know you will _always_ be my friend." Her eyes looked so loving, so understanding, so concerned, that I couldn't help the nodding motion my head initiated.

"Yeah, no problem." I repeated and nodded towards the classroom. "Best of luck to you both." I hate being so goddamned _nice_ precisely when I don't wanna be.

She smiled brightly. "Thank you, Chizuru." And slowly walked away, looking back a couple of times to make sure I was okay before nearly walking into her boyfriend – _ugh_, I hated that word – who scowled down at her. I watched in fascination as the crinkles in his brow slowly smoothed out as she spoke. And then I sighed dejectedly. Well, if anyone could make a softie out of the punkass, she certainly could. And he looked as if he was hooked. Probably for life.

_Fuck_.

My eyes shifted over in Tatsuki's direction for some odd reason and found her staring at the two as if she'd never seen them before. Huh, interesting. So even her best friend had no idea. I'd be lying if I said being the one to know first wasn't satisfying.

Sensei bellowed for us to get in our seats, and I moved and breathed on autopilot for the rest of class. Only once was I distracted by a movement from the orange dipshit as he tried to get Orihime's attention. I watched curiously as he finally gave up, unfolded the square paper he'd been trying to hand to her, made an airplane out of it, and sent it floating onto her desk, keeping a watchful eye on sensei. She made a cute little squeak of surprise and barely managed to hide the note before the teacher's glare was directed at her. Seconds later when the teacher had turned away she anxiously opened the note.

I've always loved Orihime's blushing giggle. But today? At this moment? It made my stomach turn. My fist clenched with the urge to slam that cocky smirk off his face.

But it unclenched when I saw that blissfully happy expression on her face as she safely tucked his note away into the pocket of her skirt. Damn unrequited love and its insistence on being happy that the other person is happy. _Dammit_.

I heard Tatsuki ask to go to the bathroom as she ran out the door and vaguely wondered what her problem was before returning to my own little drab world of woe-is-me, the teacher's drones fading into white noise. Finally the bell rang and I tossed up one last masochistic look towards Superman and Lois as he got up to sit in the newly vacant seat in front of her, folding his arms over her desk as he said something, making her laugh and lean towards him to say something in response.

I turned away in disgust. If they keep acting like that the whole school is gonna know by the end of the day.

Not really knowing where I wanted to go and not feeling very hungry at the moment, I strolled down the hall to the girls' bathrooms and shoved open the door, taking in the stillness.

A sniff sliced through the silence, echoing off the walls. Whoops, not completely still. More sniffling was coming from one of the stalls. Hm, some poor kid get bullied again? I sighed and figured I might as well try to help and get my mind off things. I walked and bent at the waist to look under each stall for feet, finally finding them at the last one. I rapped my knuckles on the door.

"Go away!"

I sighed at the choked protest. "Look, you don't sound like you need someone to go away, you sound like you need help. Now just-"

"Chizuru?"

Okay. So she knew me. But accomplishing voice recognition on my end was difficult when her voice was clogged with tears and snot. "Yeah, who's this?"

"Get the fuck out of here, you perverted freak!"

Ah. I'd recognize those endearments anywhere. "Believe me, I'd gladly get outta here, but my better nature won't let me leave you alone to cry into a toilet. It's probably none of my business, but that is seriously disturbing, Tatsuki."

"Yeah, it's none of your business so get the fuck out. And don't you dare tell anyone about this."

I stepped away and lifted my hands in defense even though she couldn't see me. "Fine, fine. You win. I'm out. Just don't slit your wrists or anything because then I'll be walking around with guilt over my head. And trust me, I don't want anything to do with you hanging around me."

She didn't say anything in response and I walked away, opened the door, shut it with a slam, and silently hoisted myself up onto the nearest sink, swinging my feet back and forth as I waited. A few more sniffles later there was a shuffle, a clinking of metal as she unlocked the door, and finally she opened it.

"You bitch," she hissed after she got over the shock of seeing that I'd tricked her.

"That's me. And you look like hell." She really did. Red, puffy eyes. Pale skin. Behind her hatred for me, she looked as if the world had mistaken her for a place to take a dump.

She roughly wiped at her eyes and gave up trying to glare at me and splash water on her face at the same time. After she ran her wet hands through her short, black hair she looked slightly better. _Slightly_.

"So what's got your world coming to an end?"

"Like you said, none of your business."

I frowned at her. And myself. I didn't know why the hell I cared so much, but I did. And I was _so_ not getting into the "why" of that right now. Right now I needed to find out what had tough-girl Tatsuki holed up in the stall crying her eyes out. I thought about the day. Nothing unusual had happened before she'd run out of class and she'd seemed normal before that. Well, normal for her anyway. And well, nothing unusual except Ichigo and Orihime acting like twitterpated rabbits.

Oh.

"It's Kurosaki isn't it?" Déjà vu much? Dammit, why did he have all the luck…_Whoa_, where'd that hellish thought come from? Tatsuki was not a lucky thing to have liking you. No siree.

Her head snapped up from the paper towel it had been buried in. "What?!"

"Kurosaki. You like him. But now that it's pretty obvious that him and Orihime are-"

She sputtered and shook her head in disgust. "Ichigo?!" she spat out. "Are you kidding me?"

Okay so Ichigo wasn't a pimp after all and hell's temperature was still far above freezing. "So what then?" She rolled her eyes at me and shook her head, planting both hands on the edges of her sink as she bent over it.

Oh.

"Orihime? Holy shit, you like Orihime?" No spitting or sputtering this time. "I didn't even know you were a lesbian."

"I'm not a lesbian!"

"Uh-huh. Well unless Orihime's hiding a penis and those breasts are just really big pecs, you definitely like girls. You might be bi, but you're definitely not straight."

She shook her head violently, but no words came out. I decided to set aside the technical labeling for now.

"So, I'm not the only who got my heart busted today, huh?"

I watched her jaw tighten and one small tear escape down her cheek. Damn, she'd had it bad. I slid off the sink and crossed my arms as I leaned my hip against its side, facing the stupid schoolgirl. "Oi. You've known longer than me how hung up she's been on that assface, so why are you taking this so hard? Get your shit together and stop being so pathetic. You want what's best for her, don't you?" She nodded weakly. "Well, as much as I hate to admit it, this idiot is probably what's best for her. So be happy for her, be her goddamned best friend and get over yourself, okay? It's revolting to see you like this."

I was hoping tough love would be the way to deal with her, and sure enough it worked. Her spine stiffened. She practically slapped away the tear and squeezed back the others that had been about to slip out. Her dark eyes moved towards me, assessing me. She took in a deep breath and nodded, straightening her clothes. "I…thank you, Chizuru."

I couldn't stop the smirk that spread over my face. Maybe hell was getting a few icicles after all. I held my tongue from saying anything snide. Save that for later. "Yeah, whatever."

She moved to go past me and out the door, but I stopped her. "Wait a bit before going back out there. You look exactly like a girl who locked herself in a bathroom stall to cry her eyes out."

Tatsuki glanced at the mirror behind me and grimaced. "Yeah, tha-"

I held up my hand to stop the word. "No more thanking me today. You might pull something."

She rolled her eyes, but smirked. "Don't count on it ever happening again."

Silence stretched as she leaned back against the sink next to me, each falling into our own miserable thoughts.

"She didn't even tell me. Why didn't she tell me?"

Her comment sliced through the silence that had settled around us and annoyingly enough the satisfaction that I'd felt when I realized she'd told me before she'd told Tatsuki wasn't there. I actually hurt for the crazed tomboy. I sighed heavily. "Are you really going to go back to your pity party now?"

She said nothing and I looked over at her, irritated to see a tear rolling down her cheek. I groaned and grabbed her shoulders, forcefully turning her body to face mine. "Look, I don't why she didn't tell, but you're still her best friend. That hasn't changed. The only thing that's changed is that now _Ichigo_ is the most important person in her life. _Ichigo_ is the one that protects her. Not you. Not anymore. But that doesn't make you any less of a friend to Orihime. I'm sure she has her reasons for not telling you, and she's probably about to burst from not being able to tell you. So just calm down and shut off the waterworks already."

Tatsuki blinked at me and another tear rolled down her cheek.

I grumbled and unthinkingly lifted my hand to wipe away the tear with my thumb. She gasped lightly as my thumb stroked her cheek a lot longer than was necessary. But I was really fascinated by how smooth her skin was. How unexpected.

"Ch-Chizuru?"

My eyes moved back to look in her eyes. The wide-eyed innocence reflected on that never before seen expression put a lump in my throat and a hard squeeze in my chest. As if in a trance, I lifted my other hand to her other cheek, stroking my thumb along her cheekbone. For some crazy reason, my eyes dropped to her parted lips, swollen from crying. They were so red and plump.

And then I lost all control and before I knew it I was kissing her. I was kissing Arisawa Tatsuki. And even crazier, she was kissing me back. If I had let myself think about it before, I probably would have thought that kissing Tatsuki would be a rough and wild ride, full of love and hate and passion. But no, this kiss was sweet, gentle, urging. Her hands shyly rested on my waist.

Feeling bold and wanting to forget the day's heartbreak and get lost in this newfound territory, I ran my tongue along the soft seam of her mouth. Happily, she opened her mouth to my curious probing and even responded with her inexperienced tongue as well.

It was slow and deep as we tried to forget and tried not to think about the repercussions of this.

I was just wrapping my lips around her tongue to suck on it when there was a chorus of gasps and we looked up to see the gaggle of girls that had just intruded into the bathroom. Tatsuki gasped, but quickly recovered, straightened up, and glared her scariest scowl at the girls. "You breathe a word of this to anybody and I'll kick your asses into the next century. Got it?"

All the girls nodded and rushed out before they could see anything else or get a worse threat.

We turned back to face each other at the same moment and our eyes met in equal shock. Never in a million –

"Never in a million years…" Tatsuki exclaimed. "So…wait…" She frowned and studied the tiles in the floor. "This…no, this isn't good. We shouldn't be doing this."

I snorted. "Why? Because you're not a lesbian?"

"Well, that too." I rolled my eyes. She was still holding to that? "But no. We're rebounding. And off the same girl, no less! Turning to each other is just…well it's not…I mean it just can't be healthy."

I was having trouble finding something to say to contradict that, so I just grabbed the back of her head and kissed her again, more passionately this time, and she responded almost without hesitation, her arms boldly tightening around my waist.

Eventually, I pulled back to catch my breath, looking into her hazy eyes, smiling at the hot blush on her cheeks. And then I realized. I realized that all my flamboyant chasing after Orihime had been about more than Orihime. It had been about Tatsuki. I just didn't know it. I did love Orihime, but slowly, without my noticing it, I'd developed feelings for the fiery girl in my arms. Who would have guessed?

I pushed back a stray tendril, curling it behind her ear, and she surprised me by eagerly pressing her lips against mine.

Hopefully she'd realize someday that all her fighting against me hadn't just been about Orihime. But for now, we could slowly explore this new and insane territory we'd stumbled across.

Heh, what a crazy day.


	6. ChizuruIshida

**Pairing**: Ishida/Chizuru  
**Rating**: T with some hot moments (well, hopefully they were hot |D)

* * *

_Eyeglass Love_

:

:

:

"Ishida-san."

"Yes, Ochi-sensei?"

"Honsho-san will be your partner for this project."

Ishida heard Chizuru groan loudly from somewhere behind him, and he had to agree with her. He did not like the girl and apparently the feeling was mutual. Granted, he hadn't spent much time with her, but seeing her repulsive antics from a distance was more than enough for him. Her behavior towards Orihime was appalling, made even worse by Orihime's obliviousness to the motives behind her groping. He didn't even need a partner for this project. He could do perfectly well on his own.

"All right everyone, get with your partners and discuss."

Ishida glanced back at Chizuru and noted that she did not seem to have the least interest in budging from her spot. He sighed and got up, stiffly stepping over to her desk and settling down in the empty desk in front of her. "When are you available to work on this?"

An eyebrow rose behind her glasses. "Straight to the point, huh?"

Ishida remained silent and waited for her answer.

She finally let out a sigh. "Whenever. It doesn't matter to me."

"You're available whenever?" he repeated.

"Are you deaf?" she snapped. "Just pick a time, day, and place and I'll be there." Her narrowed eyes flicked over to the left and then she huffed.

Ishida glanced to where she had, even though he had a pretty good idea what she was grumpy about. Orihime sat at her desk cheerfully chatting with Tatsuki. "All right," he began. "How about after school today then?"

"Today?!"

"You did say whenever. Might as well get this over with."

"But I have club after school."

"So do I. We'll do it after that."

Chizuru sighed again. "Fine. Where?"

"My club usually runs over, so meet me in handicrafts."

"Whatever."

"See you after school then." She barely nodded at him, and he was about to get up when he saw Kurosaki had seated himself at Ishida's desk and was sleeping while Chad's big body blocked him from the teacher's hawk eyes. Ishida's teeth ground together. "He better not drool on my desk, damn it," he growled in a low voice.

"Oh, that's quite a reaction. You got a thing for that orange haired freak?"

Ishida spun back around to face her and sputtered as his face turned red. "What?! A thing…f-for _that_? You must be joking!"

Chizuru settled her chin into her hands and blinked at him with a smirk on her face. "You two do have this great tense atmosphere. One could slice the sexual tension with a knife."

The Quincy gaped at her, at a complete loss for words at the absurd accusation, but then Tatsuki moved in the corner of his eye and a slow, sinister smile crept over his face. "I could say the same about you and Arisawa-san."

Her chin fell out of her hands and nearly hit the desk. "Wh-What?! Not in a million years!" she screeched, some students turning to look at the commotion.

"I hope that enthusiasm is over your project, Honsho-san," the teacher stated.

Chizuru muttered her affirmative and then turned back to her partner. "You're a prick."

He shrugged. "And you're insane."

"I am not insane!"

Ishida raised a perfect eyebrow. "Anyone who pursues Inoue-san like you do should be committed."

"That's not insanity! That's love!"

He snorted in derision and before she could respond, the bell rang.

"Thank god," she sighed.

"See you after school," Ishida commented as he turned from her desk, making her groan.

:

Chizuru begrudgingly dragged her feet to the room where the handicrafts club met. She couldn't believe she had to do a project with this jerk. Never once did she get picked to partner with Orihime. She couldn't understand why! Okay…well, maybe she _did_ go a little overboard sometimes. But Orihime was so cute! She just couldn't help herself!

The door was already open and she peered inside to see that Ishida was the only one left, hovering over a desk, his fingers nimbly working around fabric, thread, and needle. Something made her pause and she cocked her head to the side as she watched him sew the delicate thing, his pale, slender fingers moving fluidly and surely. His brow was scrunched down into a frown behind his glasses as his perfectly straight hair swung across his cheek, brushing the soft, pale skin.

Chizuru started when she realized what kind of path her thoughts were headed. She was feeling…_attracted_ to this guy! Ridiculous. Just because his features were more feminine than others doesn't mean she should suddenly have the hots for such a jerk. He was probably a homo anyway…and she _was_ a homo! She mentally slapped herself to remember that.

"Are you going to stand there watching me all day?"

His condescending voice sliced through her. He knew?! "No!" she shot back. "I was _trying_ to be nice and wait for you to finish," she lied.

Ishida stopped at that and looked up at her, his frown relaxing as he studied her for a moment. "I apologize. That was rude of me. Thank you for being patient."

She blinked as he turned back to his sewing to pack it away. Well, what do you know? He could actually be nice once in a while. "Yeah, sure."

He finally slid out of his seat and gracefully walked towards her. "Shall we see if the science room is free then?" he asked her mildly.

Chizuru could only nod and follow, feeling confused at this nicer side of him. _Tch, whatever_. He was still a superior prick. He just found manners once in a while.

:

_Well, at least he's smart enough that we can get this done quickly,_ she thought as she waited for him to mix the salt and powder chalk.

"Beaker, please."

She handed over the beaker of water and alcohol. "You know, I could do _some_ of the work."

"Not necessary," he said shortly as he mixed the elements.

Chizuru sighed and fiddled with a beaker full of blue dye.

Ishida's eyes darted up to hers for a moment. "Why do you go after Inoue-san like that?"

She nearly dropped the beaker. "Eh? What's this all of a sudden?"

He shrugged. "Just making conversation."

She narrowed her eyes at him. He definitely did not seem like the type to start up conversations for no reason. "Because I love her of course."

"Do you."

"Why the hell are you so curious?!"

"Why do you pursue her when your efforts are meaningless?"

"What did you say?" she ground out.

"Obviously, she is not interested in girls. And furthermore, she's in love with another."

"I already know that!"

Those calm eyes flicked back to her. "Do you."

Chizuru slammed her palm down on the table. "Like I said before, why the hell do you care about me and my love life?"

That eyebrow rose above his lens again. "You have a love life?"

"Lack of!" she shouted in frustration. "Whatever! Don't get technical, just answer the damn question!"

Ishida shrugged again as he focused on their project. "Just making conversation."

In a fury, Chizuru forgot that there was a beaker still in her hand and made a move to point at him angrily while hurling some insult. She felt the world slow down as the beaker went flying out of her hand and across the table, heading straight for her partner. "Ishida!" But her cry was too late. The beaker had already slammed into his chest, the liquid splashing all over his shirt and up on his glasses.

"Shit!" Ishida cursed unexpectedly, and Chizuru's eyes went wide in apology as he jumped back, picking at the sopping wet shirt. "Damn it."

"I'm sorry! I-"

He waved her off. "It's fine, Honsho-san. It was just an accident…I hope…" Her eyes grew even bigger as his slim fingers began unbuttoning his school shirt.

"Wh-What are you doing?!"

Ishida paused and lifted his head. "Taking my shirt off…"

"I can see that! But why?!"

"Because…" he said slowly as if he wasn't quite sure of her intelligence at that moment. "I don't particularly want to continue our project dripping wet."

"…Oh…."

"Does it bother you that much?"

"N-No! Go ahead. It's totally fine…you just surprised me." She looked back down to busy herself with the things at the table. What was wrong with her? It was just a boy! She didn't like boys! They were crass and smelly and dirty and… Her eyes watched him over her glasses. And he was slender and clean and polite and… Her tongue licked her lips as he reached the last button and shimmied out of his shirt, his skin glistening from the liquid that had soaked through, his delicate pink nipples hard from the sudden chill. His skin looked so smooth, his muscles long and lean.

He took off his glasses and she caught sight of deep blue eyes under frowning eyebrows as he tried to wipe them off on his soggy shirt.

He was beautiful.

She felt her cheeks flush hotly at the thought. What was she thinking?! He definitely did not have her goddess's glorious breasts. And as clean and pretty as he was, he was still decidedly manly. And she was fairly certain he had a penis and testicles. And she didn't like those. Of course not.

Her eyes flicked down to the zipper and button duo on the low-slung school pants. _Definitely_ did not like those.

He tossed the shirt over a metal chair and brought up his glasses, allowing her to tear her gaze away from his crotch to the table in front of her just before he got his vision back. Her eyes went back to him when he made a sound of frustration. She sighed and decided to be helpful as he scowled at his smeared glasses. It would at least distract her from her crazy thoughts.

Chizuru felt his eyes on her as she walked around the table to retrieve her bag and after rummaging around in it for a bit, she pulled out her eyeglass cloth and walked over to him with her hand held out. Silently, he took off his glasses and handed them to her and it was an effort not to stare into those deep blue eyes of his. She quickly finished and handed them back to him, glancing up at his face.

She shouldn't have done looked at those intense eyes. Was he trying to shoot laser beams out of his eyes? What was his deal?

Suddenly he had stuck his glasses in his pocket and then he was reaching up with both hands and grasping the sides of her glasses. She froze as he pulled them off. _What_… His hands really were soft, she discovered as the back of his fingers swept down her cheeks while he pulled off her glasses. She should have slapped away the hand that fingered the tips of her pink hair, but she couldn't pull out of this spell those eyes had put her under.

And then her shoulders were being gently grabbed and his lips touched hers. She gasped in surprise and then couldn't believe the electricity that shot through her and made her press back against his lips. They stayed like that for a few moments, experimenting with the positions of their lips until Ishida finally pulled back.

Chizuru finally snapped out of it and wrenched her shoulders from his hands. "What the hell was that?!"

"I don't know," he stated honestly.

"Well…you shouldn't have done that!" That sounded weak even to her.

"You kissed me back."

Oh, what a _man_ thing to say. "Of course I did! I…I…well I just…you just caught me by surprise is all." Weak again.

He took step towards her, his eyes glued to her mouth. "I want to do it again."

"What?!" She took a step back.

"I said, I'd like to do that again, if you don't mind."

"I _do_ mind!" What was wrong with him?! Why were his eyes so dark? And what was with this determined look?!

"Do you?" he asked skeptically.

"I…" Her bottom hit the table behind her and he came closer until their bodies almost brushed. "Yes."

"Yes, what?"

She couldn't breathe when that tempting chest was right in front of her! And he didn't stink like a man; he smelled good. Really, really good. "Yes, do that again." Oh god, oh god, what was she doing? What was she thinking? But then she couldn't think anymore because his head was dropping and he was kissing her again, but harder. And then he was gripping her hips and pulling her up against him and her hands were exploring the skin that was as soft as it looked. She wasted no time in finding those nipples, and she pinched them lightly between her fingers which made him groan in a way she never thought she'd hear from him and push deeper into the kiss. His tongue was everywhere in her mouth and she fought back to go everywhere in his.

He was fighting to get back into dominance in her mouth and she bit his lip, releasing more sounds from his mouth that she never dreamed she'd hear. Her nails scraped gently over his nipples and down his lean stomach and then his hands gripped her hips tighter and sat her on top of the table, fitting himself in between her legs.

She found herself not caring what he did as long as he didn't stop, as long as she could keep running her hands over his skin and into his silky hair. Her breasts ached against his chest and she considered removing the fabric in between them when suddenly he ground into her panties and she was reminded that this was a _man_ she was making out with in the school science room. Not Orihime whom she'd always fantasized about. Not even a girl. But a _man_.

However, from the moaning whimper that left her lips when he ground into her again, she apparently didn't care. In fact, she found her body bucking up to meet his rhythmic thrusts as she gasped and made her own funny noises against his mouth as his hands slid up her waist to fill his palms with her breasts.

She'd be lying if she said that behind the thousands of explosions in her nerves and the heat coursing through her body, she wasn't feeling pretty damn smug at bringing out this side in the stiff gentleman. She supposed he could be a womanizer behind a nerdy façade and simply wanted to try his hand at turning a lesbian, but she simply couldn't bring herself to care when his tongue was doing _that_ and his hands were doing _this_ and he was hitting that spot right _there_.

But of course right when things were getting really hot, the door that they hadn't locked because they hadn't expected this little impromptu make-out session was opened by two girls and their loud gasps interrupted them.

Never in her life would she ever have imagined that not only would she be caught dry humping a boy in school, but that it would be by Inoue Orihime. Not only that, but that she would be _annoyed_ to see her there because she had interrupted them. Everything felt topsy-turvy.

Tatsuki was the first to speak. "Holy shit."

Ishida seemed unable to move an inch from his current position which was him between her legs and her breasts gripped in his hands. Finally, his brain seemed to start up again and he released her breasts and quickly straightened her clothes and hair for her. Such a gentleman.

"Oh my," Orihime said as she looked at them with wide eyes and a light blush over her cheeks. "I didn't know you two were dating."

"We're not!" they both exclaimed in unison.

Tatsuki grinned lethally. "Chizuru, I thought you were a lesbian."

"I am!" she snapped.

"Uh-huh…well, Ishida I always thought you were gay, but I didn't realize you were hiding a vagina under those pants."

While Ishida sputtered, Orihime turned to Tatsuki. "Really? I thought he was in love with Rukia."

"Rukia?! I am not gay nor do I like Rukia! What the hell?!"

"So," Tatsuki deduced. "You're hiding a vagina."

"Not that either!" he spat out.

"Hey, what's goin' on in here – whooaa," Ichigo had just walked in and gaped then smirked at the sight of a half naked Ishida still standing between Chizuru's legs. "Dude…did you turn a lesbian straight? Nice."

Chad gave him a thumbs up.

"I am not straight!" Chizuru screamed.

Ichigo held up his hands. "Okay, so you're bi now. Whatever."

"I am not! Men are digusting!"

Ishida looked at her then with a raised eyebrow. "Well then what does that make me?"

"You…Y-You are the exception," she muttered as her face flushed.

"Aww," Orihime exclaimed.

And then Chizuru did the unthinkable; she glared at Orihime.

But a second after that she was grateful to her because Orihime waved her hands before another word could be uttered and began ushering the group out. "Come on, let's leave them alone. We can use the science room downstairs."

When the door shut and the room was quiet again, a distinct awkwardness filled the space between them. Ishida wouldn't look away from the door and Chizuru fiddled with her skirt like the shy, delicate schoolgirl she was not.

"So…" he finally said. "I'm the exception?"

"Shut up," she grumbled.

"So I'm not?"

"Yeah, you are, okay? Happy?"

"No," he said bluntly and seriously, finally turning back to her and gently raising her chin up to look at him. Gently was strange. She wasn't used to being handled gently. And when he touched her like that it shook her heart. "I think I might like you."

"What?! Like me?! Why the hell would you like me?!"

"How should I know?!" he shot back, frustration etched in his face. "I went from barely knowing you and not liking what I knew to losing control the moment you get near me! You…" He shoved his hand into his hair, messing the normal perfection. "Fuck…"

Chizuru's eyes had grown wide as she watched him. He was normally so infuriatingly perfect and composed. "Well I…I don't know what I feel. This is just crazy…"

"Yeah…"

She stared up at him for a moment, those gentle, intelligent blue eyes piercing her. Finally, she sighed and hooked her fingers into the belt loop of his pants. "Just kiss me again, would you?"

She could have sworn he bowed slightly at her. "I'd be happy to."

This was the most bizarre day of her life. He was a _man_ and a particularly irritating one at that. But then… he just smelled _so_ good…


End file.
